1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to floral display holders. In particular, the invention is directed toward floral display holders resting on an incline such as those attached to an easel or a tripod.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many floral display holders today utilize a water-retaining foam (hereinafter referred to as the "floral foam" or "foam") to attach flowers thereon in a desired arrangement and at the same time provide water to the stems of the flowers to prevent wilting. Prior to piercing the floral foam with the desired flower arrangement, the floral foams are saturated with water. The foams are then placed onto a floral display holder and locked into place by retaining clips. The floral foam when fully saturated retains approximately five cups of water. Despite this initial saturation the floral foam gradually dries as a result of both evaporation into the ambient air and absorption by the flower arrangement.
In the case of an inclined floral display holder, such as the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,929 to O'Connell, the inclination and the force of gravity cause a gradual migration of the water retained in the foam to migrate from the upper portions of the foam to the bottom. As the inclination from the horizontal increases, the migration becomes more exaggerated and the saturated foam gradually shifts downwards and begins to sag. As display time progresses the upper portion of the foam dries fairly quickly. As a consequence, the flowers inserted into the now dried-up portion may wilt earlier than those flowers inserted at the moister bottom portion of the foam. Currently, a user must, therefore, occasionally attend the floral display arrangement with a watering vessel inhand to re-saturate the floral foam. When water is simply added to the top portion of the floral foam, excess water begins to undesirably accumulate in the lower portion near the bottom of the foam. In the O'Connell patent, there is at least one aperture along the connecting edge of the upper bottom wall and the lowermost side wall to drain this excess water into the hollow interior of the product.
However, currently available inclining floral display holders fail to address the need to conveniently re-saturate a dried foam without a watering vessel. In addition there remains the problem of the upper portion of the floral foam disproportionately drying more quickly than the lower portion of the foam. In addition, there also remains the unfavourable condition of the foam shifting down and sagging. Moreover, a completed flower arrangement is difficult to handle, especially when fully loaded. A completed flower arrangement may weigh in the range of 40 to 50 pounds; therefore, a means to comfortably transport the holder is desired.